Providing for Congressional Disapproval of Rule Submitted By Office of the Comptroller of the Currency Relating to ``Community Reinvestment Act Regulations''

Floor Speech

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Mr. GREEN of Texas. Madam Speaker, it is an honor to serve in the Congress of the United States of America under Chairwoman Waters' leadership.

Madam Speaker, Ms. Waters and I both know that the CRA was not born to create luxury homes in opportunity zones. The CRA was not birthed to provide opportunities in what are being called banking deserts that may not be LMI communities.

The CRA was born to correct the harm that the government had done in the 1930s.

At that time, the government, by and through the FHA, decided that it would craft maps, and these maps had red lines on them. These red lines became communities that were undesirable, but more appropriately, they were deemed unsafe, and as a result, lending institutions would not lend in these redlined areas.

The CRA was born to end the discrimination, the redlining, but this bill takes a step back to the 1930s.

This bill will not undo the harm that was done; it will increase the harm. I cannot support it.

The CRA was created to help LMI, low-to-moderate income, communities have banking privileges that they were denied under the law.

This bill doesn't help us with the LMIs. It is going to give those big guys an opportunity to acquire these funds. I stand against it.

Madam Speaker, I support the chair of the committee and I stand for justice for the LMI communities.

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Mr. GREEN of Texas. Madam Speaker, I submit the following letters to be included in the debate on H.J. Res. 90. The following letters express support for H.J. Res. 90. National Community Reinvestment Coalition, June 23, 2020. House of Representatives, U.S. Capitol, Washington, DC.

Dear Representative: On behalf of the undersigned organizations, we are writing to urge you to cosponsor and support H.J. Res. 90, a disapproval resolution that would overturn a poorly constructed rule change on the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) hastily finalized in May, days before Comptroller Otting's resignation from the agency, and published this month.

At the outset, it is critical to note that the Trump Administration is split on the CRA final rule. With a lack of interagency coordination among the nation's bank regulators, different banks will be held to different reinvestment standards depending on their regulator--an outcome that both banks and advocates have cautioned against. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell testified just last week that he expects the agency to move forward with CRA updates intended to garner ``broad support among the community of intended beneficiaries'' something he considers to be ``one non- negotiable condition for it.'' The OCC's final rule achieved no such support or consensus. The vast majority of public comments--about 90 percent--opposed the CRA evaluation measure and presumptive ratings framework that remains at the heart of the final rule, but the OCC adopted it anyway.

The OCC's final rule makes a series of changes to the CRA regulatory framework that reduce incentives for banks to lend to low-and-moderate income (LMI) families and invest and serve LMI communities: home buyers and homeowners, small businesses, community development projects that primarily benefit and serve LMI people. It also expands the number of banks that will have no review of how they open and close bank branches and provide key bank services in LMI and underserved neighborhoods.

These harmful changes could not come at a worse time. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and widespread social unrest that is gripping the nation has hit LMI and communities of color the hardest and brought gapping disparities to the forefront. The changes to the CRA being pushed through by the OCC would do little to address the pressing national priorities of reducing the racial wealth gap, of better serving those traditionally underserved by the nation's financial system or stimulating an economic recovery from COVID-19 that is equitable. While the OCC claims its aim is to increase CRA activity, the lack of interagency agreement among this Administration's regulators should serve as a dire warning about that claim. We do not yet know the full impact of COVID-19 on local mortgage markets, small business resiliency, or how LMI households, neighborhoods, local jobs, and key sectors will recover. Weakening CRA at this moment is a blueprint for a crisis after the crisis.

For all these reasons and more, we urge you to cosponsor H.J. Res. 90 and support it when it is considered on the House floor. Sincerely, National Groups

National Community Reinvestment Coalition (NCRC): AFL-CIO, Americans for Financial Reform, Center for Community Progress, Consumer Action, Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC), NACEDA, National Association for Latino Community Asset Builders (NALCAB), National Housing Resource Center, National Housing Trust, National NeighborWorks Association, National Urban League, Prosperity Now, The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, UnidosUS. Alabama

Titusville Development Corporation. Arizona

Arizona Housing Coalition, Local First Arizona, Local First Arizona Foundation. California

California Coalition for Rural Housing; California Reinvestment Coalition; California Resources and Training; CDC Small Business Finance; EAH Housing; Grounded Solutions Network; High Impact Financial Analysis, LLC; Peoples' Self- Help Housing; The Greenlining Institute; VEDC. Colorado

Urban Land Conservancy. Connecticut

Neighborhood Housing Services of Waterbury. District of Columbia

Africa Diaspora Directorate. Delaware

Delaware Community Reinvestment Action Council, Inc.; Edgemoor Revitalization Cooperative, Inc.; The Ministry of Caring Inc. Florida

Affordable Homeownership Foundation, Inc.; Community Reinvestment Alliance of South Florida; Goldenrule Housing & Community Development Corp Inc; Metro North Community Development Corp.; Solita's House. Hawaii

Hawai`i Alliance for Community-Based Economic Development. Illinois

Accion Serving Illinois & Indiana; Chicago Community Loan Fund; Chicago Rehab Network; Housing Action Illinois; NW HomeStart, Inc.; Woodstock Institute. Indiana

Continuum of Care Network NWI, Inc.; HomesteadCS; Legacy Foundation; Prosperity Indiana. Kentucky

River City Housing. Louisiana

Multi-Cultural Development Center. Massachusetts

Greater Boston Legal Services, Massachusetts Affordable Housing Alliance. Maryland

African American Chamber of Commerce of Montgomery County, Maryland Consumer Rights Coalition, Maryland Consumer Rights Coalition, Rebirth Inc., Residential Housing Counseling Agency. Maine

Coastal Enterprises, Inc. Michigan

Fair Housing Center of Metropolitan Detroit, GenesisHOPE, Habitat for Humanity of Michigan, Southwest Economic Solutions. Missouri

Metropolitan St. Louis Equal Housing and Opportunity Council. Mississippi

Hope Enterprise Corporation, Montgomery Citizens United for Prosperity (MCUP). Montana

Montana Fair Housing, Inc. North Carolina

Reinvestment Partners. New Jersey

NCRC Housing Rehab Fund, LLC; New Jersey Association on Correction; New Jersey Citizen Action; New Jersey Community Capital. New Mexico

Southwest Neighborhood Housing Services. New York

Association for Neighborhood and Housing Development (ANHD); Banana Kelly Community Improvement Association; Beaulac Associates LLC; BOC Capital Corp. CDFI; Business Outreach Center Network; Center for NYC Neighborhoods; Chhaya Community Development Corporation; Community Capital New York; Community Development Venture Capital Alliance; CNY Fair Housing, Inc.; Community Loan Fund of the Capital Region, Inc.; Fair Finance Watch; Fidelis Federal Credit Union; Fifth Avenue Committee; Genesee Co-op FCU; Greater Jamaica Development Corporation; Habitat for Humanity New York City; Habitat NYC Community Fund; La Fuerza CDC; Neighbors Helping Neighbors; NYS CDFI Coalition; Oswego County Federal Credit Union; PathStone Enterprise Center, Inc.; Renaissance Economic Development Corp.; The Knowledge House; Three Jewels Outreach Center; University Neighborhood Housing Program. Ohio

Cleveland Neighborhood Progress; Columbus Compact dba Columbus Empowerment Corp.; County Corp.; Homes on the Hill, CDC; Ohio CDC Association; The Fair Housing Center for Rights & Research; Working In Neighborhoods. Oregon

Housing Oregon. Pennsylvania

Amani Christian Community Development; Beltzhoover Consensus Group; Berks Latino Workforce Development Corporation (BLWDC); Bloomfield-Garfield Corporation; Chester Community Improvement Project; Fair Housing Rights Center in Southeastern Pennsylvania; Good Bricks Ventures LLC; Hilltop Alliance; Housing Committee; Jave Jive Coffee LLC; Mount Washington Community Development Corporation; Northside Leadership Conference; PHDA Pittsburgh Housing Development Association, Inc.; Philadelphia Association of Community Development Corporations; Pittsburgh Community Reinvestment Group; Rising Tide Partners; Southwest CDC; The Enterprise Center; Tube City Renaissance; Wilkinsburg Community Development Corporation. Rhode Island

HousingWorks RI. Texas

Our Casas Resident Council INC., Recon Foundation, Southern Dallas Progress Community Development Corporation. Utah

Rocky Mountain Community Reinvestment Corporation. Washington

Low Income Housing Institute. Wisconsin

Citizen Action of Wisconsin; Disability Justice; Metropolitan Milwaukee Fair Housing Council; Movin' Out, Inc.; United Community Center; Urban Economic Development Association of Wisconsin (UEDA); Washington Park Housing Comm; YWCA Southeast Wisconsin; Revitalize Milwaukee. ____ National Housing Conference, Washington, DC, June 22, 2020. Hon. Nancy Pelosi, Speaker, House of Representatives, Washington, DC.

Dear Speaker Pelosi: I am writing on behalf of the National Housing Conference (NHC) to express our strong support for H.J. Res. 90, the Congressional Review Act resolution of disapproval of the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) final rule.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) has issued its final CRA rule just six weeks after the end of the comment period on the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPR) and amid the worst health and economic crisis of our lifetimes. Implementation of this rule poses a material threat to our recovery from the COVID-19 recession and undercuts the purpose and intent of CRA, harming underserved communities throughout the nation.

As NHC stated in its formal comment letter on the CRA NPR on April 8, we have no idea how severely the pandemic will impact our economy, the financial system and communities throughout the nation. Committing resources to regulatory initiatives that do not directly support our national response to the COVID-19 pandemic is a dangerous distraction: On April 27, NHC joined 14 other major national organizations, including the National Association of REALTORS and the National League of Cities, to urge regulators to refrain from committing resources to regulatory initiatives that do not directly support our national response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Notably, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and the Federal Reserve Board refused to join the OCC on this ill-timed decision. As FDIC Chairman Jelena McWilliams noted in her March 19, 2020 letter to the Financial Accounting Standards Board, financial institutions ``will face unique difficulties over the coming weeks and months to adequately staff customer-facing functions; ensure that deposit, loan, and IT systems operate normally; help borrowers that are experiencing unanticipated cash flow difficulties; and address the earnings and capital implications of near zero percent interest rates and a potential surge in borrowers who are unable to meet contractual payment terms.'' We could not agree more.

CRA modernization is a once-in-a-generation opportunity. There is much to improve, as the law and most recent regulations were written before the proliferation of interstate banking, internet banking and the revitalization of America's cities; the latter being the opposite trend of one of the two major reasons for CRA's adoption--urban disinvestment--as well as the stubborn persistence of redlining and its legacy impact. Instead, the OCC has pursued an entirely new system that will gut CRA's effectiveness for years and undercut broader efforts to address the very issues that Congress attempted to solve in 1977, and still struggles with today.

The OCC's rule has received nearly universal condemnation. Using its ratio-driven approach, banks will be powerfully incented to make only the largest investments in communities that need it the least, and may also fuel the displacement of those people who need it the most. This rule eliminates the fundamental value of CRA, which at its best, levels the playing field between large, highly profitable investments, and the harder and smaller but still profitable deals that often have disproportionately positive impact on communities; and are by their nature, harder to get an allocation of capital from a bank that we want to be governed by a culture that focuses on a risk-weighted return.

CRA modernization is long overdue and needs to be done so banks and communities get the clarity and flexibility they need to ensure it has the maximum positive impact. But no modernization effort is worth gutting the central purpose of CRA--constructive reinvestment in the communities that need it most. Consequently, the National Housing Conference strongly supports H.J. Res. 90 and hope that once this unprecedented national crisis is behind us, we can all work together to fully realize the purpose and intent of CRA. Sincerely, David M. Dworkin, President and CEO. ____ Hope, June 23, 2020. Hon. Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the House, House of Representatives. Support for H.J. Res. 90

HOPE (Hope Enterprise Corporation/Hope Credit Union/Hope Policy Institute) supposes H.J Res. 90, providing for congressional disapproval of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency's (OCC) final rule overhauling the Community Reinvestment Act.

HOPE is a Black-led, women-owned community development financial institution, credit union, and policy institute in Jackson, Mississippi. HOPE was established 25 years ago to ensure that all people regardless of where they live, their gender, race or place of birth have the opportunity to support their families and realize the American Dream. HOPE has generated over $2.5 billion in financing that has benefitted more than 1.5 million people throughout Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Tennessee.

The Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) has been a critical tool for HOPE to leverage the resources it needs to serve low-income communities, rural communities, and communities of color in the Deep South. Unfortunately, the OCC's final rule moves the CRA--and economic opportunity for our communities-- further out of reach in three ways:

Incenting larger, easier activities, potentially reducing the smaller, more intensive investments that Deep South communities so often need,

Deprioritizing meaningful CRA activities in the country's most distressed communities, and

Diverting investments to activities far from the CRA's original intent of redressing redlining.

As just one example, the OCC's failure to prioritize bank branches in low-income and rural areas will be acutely felt in the Deep South, where already much of the region is already in a banking desert and includes areas with the highest percentage of persons who are unbanked in the United States. Mississippi and Louisiana, with over 15% of unbanked residents, have the highest percentage among all states. The rate of unbanked Black households is even higher, at 28% both states. As made plain during COVID-19, these disparities in access to banking relationships lay the foundation for broader disparities in access to capital for small businesses and individuals.

Ultimately, the OCC's final rule widens the wealth gap and further inhibits economic opportunity in already hard-pressed areas of the country, particularly here in the Deep South. ____ National Alliance of Community Economic Development Associations, June 23, 2020. Representative Maxine Waters, Chairwoman, House Financial Services Committee, Washington, DC.

Dear Chairwoman Waters: Thank you for leading and actively supporting H.J. Res. 90, a disapproval resolution to overturn the Community Reinvestment Act rule change finalized by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) in May 2020. The National Alliance of Community Economic Development Associations (NACEDA) and our members find the OCC's final rule deeply problematic for low and moderate-income communities for the reasons outlined in our public comment letter dated April, 8, 2020.

The final rule addresses very few of the concerns we expressed in our April letter. The final rule is deeply problematic and fundamentally flawed.

To paraphrase FDIC Board Member Martin Gruenberg's statement on December 12, 2019, in opposition to the proposed rule, the proposed rule severely undermines what has been a core strength of CRA for 40 years--the encouragement of bank engagement and dialogue with stakeholders in local communities, including community-based organizations, community development corporations, and others, to understand and better serve historically underserved areas. For this reason and more, we support your committee's Congressional Review Act resolution to overturn the rule change. Sincerely, Frank Woodruff,

Executive Director, National Alliance of Community Economic Development Associations.

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